Our best almond recipe showcases the wide variety of ways that you can use these healthy nuts in sweet and savory dishes. For dessert, save room for almond tarts, cakes, cookies, and pies. But first, don’t miss savory almond recipes that range from homemade gluten-free pasta to holiday casseroles.
Salted Almond Praline Tart
Crunchy, salty, and nutty almonds are a brilliant complement to creamy cheesecake. This almond recipe doesn’t skimp on that promise! The graham cracker crust features toasted sliced almonds, the filling includes a splash of almond extract, and the cherry on top? A salted almond praline (that we often make a double batch of to enjoy by the handful). Finish with cherries—they, and all stone fruits, related to almonds!—or with whatever berry is in season.
Almond Butter, Fruit, and Oat Cookies
Our almond recipe round-up celebrates the many ways to use this versatile nut: ground into flour, blitzed into butter, or enjoyed in its au natural or toasted glory. This make-ahead breakfast option looks like dessert, but will keep you surprisingly satisfied and energized thanks to a nutritious and hearty blend of almond butter, applesauce, oats, what germ, and dried fruit. Follow the lead of one savvy BHG reader, and try one crumbled on top of a carton of Greek yogurt for make-shift breakfast parfait.
Upside-Down Almond-Plum Cake
As we mentioned, stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, cherries, and plums are all related to almonds. So to celebrate their cousin-like status, we paired them up in this showy upside-down cake. We promise that this almond and plum recipe is easier to execute than it looks! Start by stirring together a brown sugar and honey syrup, then pour that in a pan. Top with thinly-sliced plum halves, sprinkle with sliced toasted almonds, and top with the almond meal- and almond-extract-infused cake batter. Bake until golden, allow it to cool (the hardest part!), and dive into what one BHG reader says is an “absolutely fantastic!” dessert.
Homemade Nut Butter
Why drop $12 on a small jar of almond butter when you can blend up your own batch in less than 30 minutes? There are two keys to ace this DIY pantry staple recipe: Toast the nuts or seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, and sunflower seeds all work!). Then while they’re still warm, transfer the nuts to a strong food processor and give ‘em a whirl. In 15 minutes, you’ll have a fresh batch of almond butter ready for snacking, sandwiching, baking, and beyond.
Apple, Rhubarb, and Raspberry Pie with Almond Star Crust
Since we tested and perfect the recipe, we’re a little biased, true. But we’re pretty sure this showy fruit pie recipe might be why the designers created the starry-eyed emoji. The warmly-spiced filling features frozen berries and rhubarb plus fresh apples, so you can make this year-round. The scene-stealer, though, is the nut pie crust that’s made with both ground toasted almonds and almond extract. This dessert recipe is worthy of so many more than 5 stars!
Almond Flour Pasta
Gluten-free noodles can err on the chewy or tough side. Not these linguine lookalikes! The egg noodles call for a mix of super-fine blanched almond flour and tapioca starch for a light, tender, and twirlable consistency.
Bourbon-Brown Sugar Nuts
Candied nuts just got a glow-up, and this bourbon-spiked remix might just be our all-time favorite homemade food gifts. A little sweet, a little spicy, and just salty enough, “these are absolutely delicious,” one 5-star reviewer raves about these toasted almond treats. “The instructions say they can keep for a week, but the only way they'd last that long in my house is if we made a pound of them. Maybe.”
Marcona Almond-Toffee Bars
Slightly sweeter, softer, and buttery in flavor than standard almonds, Spanish Marconas are now available at most major grocery stores and online. They step into their very worthy spotlight here; playing nicely with oats, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, and toffee bits. A drizzle of sweetened condensed milk on top of that dessert dream team brings everything together, and the baked finished product will have “everyone asking for the recipe,” one fan tells us.
Almond and Vanilla Bean Scones
These buttery, tender, and moist sour cream scones show how beautifully vanilla (here, in potent paste form) and almonds (extract and sliced) work in tandem. If you follow the British tradition, you’ll serve your scones with jam and clotted cream. But with this almond recipe, we like to break the “rules” and brighten things up with a generous schmear of lemon curd.
Make-Ahead Green Bean Salad
Come Thanksgiving, we’re all aboard the classic cream of mushroom soup casserole train. But for weeknights or anytime we’re craving something fresher, we turn to this bright and easy green bean side dish. Hey, French fried onions shouldn’t get all the fun! Toasted sliced almonds deliver the crunch we crave here, while fresh mint and a punchy red wine vinaigrette round out the 15-minute side.
Double-Almond Macarons
All French-style macarons (not to be confused with coconut macaroons) start with almond flour, technically making them almond recipes. But this sandwich cookie recipe triples down on that promise. Almond extract makes its presence delightfully known in both the airy cookies and the fluffy frosting.
Chewy Cherry Almond Bars
With feedback like “terrific!” and notes telling us that “this recipe has just become my favorite 'go to' recipe for a quick but hugely flavorful dessert,” this nutty dessert ranks among our most popular bar cookie recipes of all time. A buttery brown sugar oat and sliced almond crumble acts as both the bottom crust and the peekaboo topping. In the center: A generous layer of cherry preserves.
Test Kitchen Tip: Don’t feel married to the cherries. Customize this almond recipe with any flavor fruit preserves or fruit butter you like, such as blueberry preserves, strawberry preserves, raspberry preserves, apricot preserves, apple butter, or fig butter.
Cherry Cobbler with White Chocolate-Almond Biscuits
Like many other almond recipes in this collection, this fruit cobbler also gets a double dose of almond essence. Almond extract in the fruit filling echoes the slivered almonds that stud the biscuit topping, and we find ourselves going back for seconds every time. Chopped white chocolate in the biscuits and a luscious mascarpone cream topping sweeten the deal.
Orange-Almond Cake with Cranberry Curd
There’s no wrong time to add this almond, cranberry, and orange dessert to your menu, but we’re particularly fond of serving it in the fall and winter to brighten things up. Orange zest and juice, plus a cup of cranberry sauce (finally, a use for those Thanksgiving leftovers!) weave into every bite. As do crunchy sliced almonds, the rich flavor of almond extract, and the warm undertones of almond flour in the batter.
